Triple Scoop Banana Split
by Zendelai
Summary: Jack and James go on a first date. Based on a tumblr prompt for "shut up kiss". Just a little bit of fluffy cuteness.


When she danced, she moved like water.

Her body rolled in waves to the beat of the music, her eyes closed and her head back as she let the sounds wash over her body. Her narrow hips swung, propelling her body in a slow circle as she raised her arms above her head. Plump lips parted as she whispered the words to herself, losing herself entirely to the tones resonating through the air.

The music changed, and she opened her eyes.

His eyes met hers, and fire passed between them.

"James." Shepard's calm tones abruptly jerked him out of his reverie. "You're spilling your drink."

"Shit!" he growled, fumbling to lift the neck of his beer. The commander threw a knowing smile at him before winking and leaving the kitchen, hand-in-hand with a giggling and swaying Tali.

With a sharp laugh Jack resumed dancing, but instead of closing her eyes again they stayed glued on James. "Like what you see, muscles?"

_Say something witty._

Like a fish surfacing from water, his mouth opened and closed repeatedly but no words emerged.

_Ok, just say something. Anything!_

"Lookin' good, tats."

_Really? That's what comes out of your mouth? No wonder you haven't gotten laid in…_

_…_

_…_

_How long has it been?_

_Was the last time that cute redhead before you got assigned to babysitting Loco?_

_Fuck, it was._

_That was over a year ago._

_You're fucking hopeless, Vega._

Yet, Jack's thick lips pulled wide over her teeth in a shockingly stunning smile. Her eyes blazing, she beckoned him over with a curled forefinger.

Maybe she'd had one too many drinks, or maybe she was straight up crazy, but she was _definitely_hitting on him and he'd be the fucking loco one if he turned that opportunity down.

Throwing the last of his beer down his throat, he slammed the empty bottle on the table and sauntered towards her, thoroughly enticed by her eyes, her lips, and her _hips_.

The haze of a few drinks burying his pride, he began to dance to the music with her, a wide smile on her face as her eyes freely roamed over his body.

At that moment, he was very grateful that he had worked out for two hours just before arriving at Shepard's little party.

Her warm hands grasped his shoulders, her eyebrows briefly rising in surprise at the feel of his hard muscles beneath her fingers. He tentatively grasped her rotating hips, stifling a groan as he felt them gyrate beneath his hands.

A deep fog covered his mind, threatening to cloud both his judgment and his principles as this stunning and sexy woman pulled him even closer, clearly wanting him as much as he wanted her.

In spite of his fervent desires, she was too good to be reduced to a one night stand and then forgotten. She deserved to be dressed up and taken out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, where she would drink the finest red wine they offered while eating a filet mignon with cheesecake for dessert. She deserved to have his coat wrapped around her shoulders when she had a shiver on the walk home, and she deserved a quiet kiss goodnight. He was sure that she had never had that before, and he wanted to offer her at least a piece of that.

Suddenly, the music stopped, and Shepard was requesting a group picture.

_Fucking now, Shep?_Jack thought to herself. _I was about to get me a fine piece of man meat._

James leaned in closely and whispered into her ear, "Get breakfast with me tomorrow."

_Wait a fucking second. Breakfast? Did… he just ask me on a date?_

She nodded slowly before standing rooted on the spot, watching James cast her a wry smile before joining the rest of the group.

_He didn't just want to fuck me? He wanted to actually ask me out on a date? Did that… did that really fucking happen? Is this the Twilight Zone? Has this war made him go fucking crazy?_

_Or is he just that fucking sweet?_

"Only if there's bacon!" she called to his retreating back before joining the rest of the crew for the picture.

—

James took a deep breath to collect himself, brushing an errant dust mote off the front of his shirt before entering the downstairs bedroom of Shepard's apartment.

To his amazement, Jack was doing pull-ups. Many of them. Easily.

_Who is this amazing woman and why didn't I meet her earlier?_

"Still going to take me up on that breakfast offer, tats?"

"Yeah I'm fucking starving." She let go of the pole and landed gracefully on her feet, shooting Jacob a devious grin before following James out of the room and subsequently out of the apartment.

"So, you said you want bacon?" he asked.

"Yeah. Something greasy. I'm feeling some home fries, bacon, sausage, ham, over easy eggs, pancakes, and at least two cups of black coffee."

"Sounds like quite a meal."

"I have quite a fucking appetite." She threw an errant wink at him, and it sent a jolt of electricity through his body.

His voice slightly shaky, he responded, "I have just the place. 'Ma's Diner'. Real classic, Earth breakfast style. You'll love it."

She did love it, and not only did she order the exact breakfast described, but she gobbled it down faster than James finished his omelet. She smacked her lips in satisfaction when it was done and downed her fourth mug of coffee, letting out a loud belch of satisfaction.

"That was the best fucking food I've had in a long time. You can't imagine the shit they pass off as an excuse for food at Grissom, they literally give us paste for breakfast. Paste! How is a station full of hungry biotics expected to live off of paste?"

He let out a low, rumbling laugh before waving the waitress down for the bill. "That gives me an idea."

"What's that?"

He leaned across the table so close to her that he could smell the coffee on her breath, and something else much more inviting: a delicate perfume, lavender with a hint of citrus. Perhaps something Miranda had loaned to her?

"We should get some ice cream."

Like a child, her eyes went wide and her lips formed an 'O' of excitement. "Fuck yes," she hissed.

He quickly slipped the waitress a credit chit and she followed him out of the restaurant, giggling like she was young again while he regaled to her the story of crashing the Kodiak on Mars. A blush crept into his cheeks when she grasped the crook of his elbow during their walk around the quiet Silversun Strip, the artificial sun raising high above their heads and bathing the buildings with warm light.

Part of him was surprised — but a larger part of him wasn't — when she ordered a triple-scoop banana split with chocolate sauce and a waffle cone on top. He ordered a simple chocolate single-scoop in a cone, both of them munching away at their frozen desserts while they walked in circles around the Strip, engaging easily in conversation about tales aboard the Normandy and their lives before Shepard.

After what felt like too short of an amount of time, James's omni-tool pinged with a notification from Shepard that shore leave was over. He closed the message with a long sigh, and they returned to the apartment in comfortable silence. She reached out to open the door, but he gently grasped her hand to stop her. "Wait."

She turned to him with a curious expression, and he continued. "Listen. I know that things are obviously crazy with the Reaper War, and we both know that working with Shepard means a lot of running around. I also know that you're really busy with teaching at the Academy and taking care of your students. But I think you're pretty awesome, and I'm cool with waiting until things sort of settle down — I mean, as long as this doesn't go pear-shaped and the galaxy ends — but if you ever get a little bit of free time, or if you're ever in the same—"

"Oh would you fucking shut up," she growled, before grabbing the back of his head and pulling him in for a tender kiss.

Her lips were soft as they wrapped around his, her fingers gripping his hair as his hands found her waist. Their kiss was long and slow, and when she pulled away with a nip at his lower lip she saw that his eyes were glazed over and his mouth wide.

"Yes, I'd like to see you again. No, you didn't need to give me a fucking speech. Here—" she grabbed his arm to pull up his omni-tool, '"—is my comm code. Flag me any time. I'll see you around, muscles."

She quickly kissed him on the cheek and entered the apartment with significantly more bounce in her step.

Later that day when they were back on the ship, Shepard gave James an inquisitive nudge and raised brow. James had no words in response, only a shit-eating grin.


End file.
